


in umbra

by gravastellar (CoffeyTime)



Series: in awe of their eclipse [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Altean Veronica (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Attempted Murder, Galra Keith (Voltron), Galra Shiro (Voltron), M/M, Mystery, POV Alternating, Suspense, cautious lance, medical talk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-01-24 03:53:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18563377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeyTime/pseuds/gravastellar
Summary: prequel chapters leading up and setting the story forin awe of their eclipseFollow the lives of princes Keith and Lance as they grow up, encountering their own problems they must overcome.do NOT repost the art from this work.





	1. Daibazaal Kingdom

**Author's Note:**

> these are going to be short until the ball starts rolling. hope you will enjoy! ♥  
> if you want me to add tags, let me know. i'd rather keep this a little mystery until something is revealed.  
> that being said, if i need to warn you or give you a heads up of something happening in the story, i will be sure to include one in the note at the beginning of the chapter!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war ends, the kingdom's rebirth, and Keith loses.

The Galra Empire was at war with the Altean Kingdom for the last few years. The cause of which was never determined. To Keith, it had been going on his whole life. He remembers when his father and mother, the King and Queen of the Galra, celebrated in finally bringing the war to an end. Now they were just Daibazaal Kingdom and the Royal Galran family. 

He doesn’t remember much else other than a huge party and the royal family being happy for once.

Then his father died.

Passed away. In his sleep.

No one knew what the cause of death was, and Keith didn’t know what was happening.

“Why won’t dad wake up?” Keith had asked his mom, tugging on her robe.

His mom tried her best not to cry, to be strong for her son. For their kingdom.

He wouldn’t know until later just why his dad had to leave him behind.

After all, he was just six at the time.

 

 


	2. A Pampered Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is taught the history of his kingdom and questions the other.

Lance had only known of the war through word of mouth, through his studies. As the first prince born to the Altean King and Queen, all he knew was peace. Even though a war raged on in the background of his early life, in the background of their kingdom, he was shielded and protected.

He doesn’t remember how the war ended or why or when. Everything was the same to him.

He continued his studies, showing immense promise at such a young age to be one of the most well-behaved heirs. His sisters, Princess Allura and Princess Veronica, were a few years older than him. They also showed signs of being extremely courteous and perfectly groomed, but Lance seemed to show these qualities at a much younger age.

He remembers being very close with his sister Allura, the eldest, and tolerating Veronica. Being so close in age, the two often butted heads, often caused by Veronica, and ended by Lance or their nannies.

Lance didn’t read or learn about the Galran Empire and their war with them until he was ten.

“This was… recent?”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness. Up until you were five, we were at war with the Galra.”

“But we’re friends with them now?”

His mentor nodded. “They are referred to now as the Daibazaal Kingdom. And more like we have an alliance with them. A pact of sorts. Our two kingdoms enter a meeting each month. There, they discuss any problems they might have with each other, or in general.”

Lance had thought about it before speaking up any more.

“What caused the war?”

He watched as his mentor paused, seeming to work something over in his mind.

“No one… quite knows.” He spoke carefully, as if hiding something. However, he didn’t offer up any further explanation.

Lance only nodded, having been only ten at the time, he didn’t really have much to say on a matter he didn’t fully understand at the time.

 

 

 


	3. Lonely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no art from now on, unfortunately. i didn't want everyone waiting just for me to finish art in order to update when everything is all written save the last few chapters. im so tired from it but so thankful i have a job now.  
> 

Keith grew up close to his mother. She first started leaving for meetings when Keith was twelve.

Whenever she would leave for the monthly Royal Meetings with Altea, he would always sit by his window, waiting for her car to pull up. Or busy himself with Shiro, one of his favorite guards and practically a brother to him, goading him to teach him self defense.

“I wanna learn to fight!” Keith had said after watching Shiro take off his helmet and wipe his face with a cloth.

Shiro whipped around so fast, Keith thought his back might’ve snapped. He watched as the older male sheathed his training sword, putting it aside. He frowned and crossed his arms when Shiro didn’t seem to be interested in helping him learn any protective skills.

“I’m sorry, Your Royal Highness - “

“ _Keith_.”

“ _Your Royal Highness_ ,” Shiro repeated, slower, and came to a stop in front of him. “But this isn’t your duty to learn.”

“I don’t care! What if one day I’ll need to defend myself?"

“If that day should ever come, I’ll be by your side.”

“And what if you’re not!”

“You can’t guarantee that I won’t,” Shiro nearly scoffed, crossing his arms as he stared down at the younger boy.

“And you can’t guarantee that you will.” Keith smirked back up at Shiro, leaning back against the post beside him. “You can’t guarantee that you’ll always be there, and you can’t guarantee that I’ll never be in trouble.”

Shiro raised his hand, lowered it, opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. “Hm.”

Keith watched in growing satisfaction as what he said settled in Shiro’s mind.

“Still, I can’t. If the Queen ever saw you -”

“Which she won’t,” he bit, nose twitching in a scowl. “You know she leaves me to do whatever I want. She’s too busy for me now anyway,” Keith muttered, looking down and away.

Tense silence fell between the two, Shiro searching the boy’s face and sighing. “I know.”

 

 

 


	4. The Thrill Of It

Lance settled in with his mug of tea, a book, and a candle lit in his favorite spot in the castle: a secluded part of the library which was home to a window bench that overlooked the garden below. It was nearing dusk and the candle would be needed to read soon and to see his way back to his room.

Since he felt completely at ease, he didn’t feel the need to alert anyone to where he was going. After all, why would he?

He propped his feet up, drawing them under himself as he leaned back against the wall. He opened the book on his lap to his bookmark and brushed his hand gingerly over the page. He sighed and looked out the window at the horizon.

He really wished he had more freedom than he did. Being only sixteen at the time had its drawbacks.

He wished he could go to the town and mingle and interact with the townsfolk. He wished he could go to the beach instead of read about it. He wished he could sneak out at night sometimes and get lost in the garden below, coming back before midnight.

He sighed again and returned his attention back to the book. He blindly read a few sentences before he found his eyes wandering around the castle library, then out the window again. He groaned in slight frustration and set the book aside, leaning against the window frame.

Maybe no one would… notice… if he just… slipped out of the window and into the garden…

He sat up a little straighter and looked around for any sights of the guards. He bit his lip and cracked the window open a little wider, slowly easing his way onto the window sill. He let his eyes scan the vicinity, slowly dropping onto his feet. He smiled, biting his lip to contain it, and flexed his toes into the grass.

He covered his mouth and looked up at the various windows overlooking the garden before turning around and ducking under a gazebo. He chuckled quietly, feeling a thrill go up his spine.

He shouldn’t have done that but his curious and adventurous nature had won out.

He remembers stepping into the garden, running his hand over various color roses, bending down to breathe in the juniper berries, and then blackness.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yikes, sorry for the cliffhanger but yeah :) thanks for reading ♥


	5. Relief?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i felt bad about that cliffhanger

Keith was seventeen when he heard about the Prince of Altea’s kidnapping.

He remembers not finding it in him to really care. He had blinked at his mother’s messenger and turned back to his book, huffing.

“What do we know about the kidnapping?” Krolia was on her feet, hand on her chest.

Keith’s mother? Worried? That was enough to have Keith raising an eyebrow, returning his gaze back to the two, keeping his head down toward his book.

“Not much, other than it had to have happened last night. A candle was found burned down along with an abandoned book in the castle’s library. As well as an opened window,” he explained.

His mother gasped. “You don’t think they took him from the window?”

“The area shows no sign of struggle suggesting it was. They’re thinking the Prince stepped into the garden from the window and was walking about the garden when he disappeared.”

Krolia crossed her free arm around her ribs, the other continuing to rub at her chest.

“I must head over to the Altean Family and show my support. Offer any help I can.” She looked back to the messenger and nodded. “Prepare a car, we’ll be leaving shortly.”

The messenger bowed and saluted, turning and leaving the room as quick as his short legs could. Keith had often thought of the man as a short frog. The thought was enough to make him chuckle at the time.

Krolia turned to Keith once she heard the muffled laugh, and frowned in disappointment. 

“Do you think this funny, Keith?”

Keith’s eyes widened and he stood, fumbling with his book and his feet, righting himself as best he could. “W-what? Uh… No, no, ma’am.”

“Then why were you laughing?”

Keith remained silent, eyes falling to the floor. He couldn’t tell her why he was laughing, not when a grave matter such as the Prince of Altea being captured.

So he remained silent.

Shiro walked in and bowed. “Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness,” he sidestepped and bowed again. “The car is ready for you, ma’am, sir.”

Krolia frowned back at Keith one more time before ushering him to follow. “We haven’t got time to waste laughing at nothing, now, do we? Come on.”

Keith hung his head and followed behind. Shiro followed behind him. Keith trailed behind at a slower pace so he could converse with Shiro.

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“Not any more than you’ve heard. I’m going with the two of you, as captain of the royal guard. And yes, before you ask, your training for self defense has been approved.” Shiro sounded tired. Had he been up all night from the news? Or was he just exasperated from anticipating Keith’s next words?

Keith frowned, not saying any more. He will admit he was happy to hear that his training was approved, but he refrained from any further outbursts.

He climbed into the car next to his mother and sat straight, looking out the window on the way over. The ride between the two kingdoms consisted of a forty minute drive through the city, an hour through various smaller towns until the border, then another two and a half hours through Altean towns and cities. The final stretch consisted of a fifteen minute express-way toward the Castle of Lions.

Keith played games on his phone and read a book he carried with him to pass the time, falling asleep somewhere along the way. His mother no doubt stayed vigilant and thought of various ways to show her support and lend her hand in any way she could.

Upon arrival, however, they were told that the situation was under control and that the Prince of Altea had been returned safely.

“Oh… This is wonderful news,” Krolia had sighed in relief. She stood tall once more and turned her attention to the guard of Altea. “Am I allowed a moment with the King and Queen of Altea? The ride is a long one, and while I’m here, I may as well talk with them about things that were made light of as of recently.”

The guard looked between each other and bowed, asking Keith’s mother to follow them. Keith took a step forward to follow the Queen but Krolia turned around.

“Keith, you stay here with Shiro. Shiro, make sure he doesn’t run off.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Wh- Krolia?” Keith hissed, slumping slightly in defeat.

Krolia raised an eyebrow.

Keith stood up straight, searching her eyes before releasing a short breath, averting his gaze to the ground. “Your Majesty.”

Keith listened as the Queen and Altea’s guards walked toward the castle’s entrance. 

Shiro placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder and offered a comforting smile.

“Come on, Your Royal Highness -”

“Shiro, for the last time, please, it’s Keith.”

“...Come on, Keith,” Shiro smiled, turning slightly and sweeping his arm out. “We have some training to discuss.”

Keith’s face had lit up as he followed Shiro toward the benches just outside the castle’s main entrance.

 

 

 


	6. Evidence

Lance was sixteen, almost seventeen, when he was kidnapped. He doesn’t remember much of it. He doesn’t remember the captors, only their voices. He doesn’t remember how many of them were with him. He doesn’t remember how he got back or how he felt like he hadn’t slept in three days.

He does remember, however, that when he came-to, his sisters were there, hugging him and crying. His mother had embraced them, and his father patted him on the shoulder before getting pulled into the hallway. He remembers hearing something about an urgent, last-minute meeting with the Galran Queen.

He also remembers brushing it off and thinking nothing of it, relaxing into his sisters’ and mother’s hold.

“What happened?” He had asked, his voice groggy.

“What were you thinking going into the garden alone at night?” Veronica billowed.

“You were just- gone! No one knew where you went!” Allura piped up through her tears.

“Sweetie, what happened?” His mother asked.

“I… I don’t know? I couldn’t concentrate on reading my book like I planned on doing, something just… called me into the garden.” Lance explained, recalling the night… before? Or had it really been three days? “How long have I been gone?”

“We assume the entire night and part of this morning. You were returned just a few hours ago.” His mother rubbed his back, fixed his bed head.

“I feel like I haven’t slept in three days.”

“Hm… I’ll make sure the doctors actually do a thorough check, just to make sure nothing is wrong,” he overheard the nurse mention to his mother.

“I don’t understand. If I was taken just last night, why am I back? The guards didn’t have anything to do with it?”

“No… well… you were found by the guards, yes, but you were found next to the open window in the library, passed out.”

Lance blinked and studied his hands. He wondered why he was back, in one piece, seemingly okay, before a white spot on the back of his hand caught his attention. He nonchalantly rubbed his thumb over it, trying to remove whatever it was. When he moved his thumb and the dot remained, he glanced up to see if anyone else had seen. His sisters were looking toward the nurse and his mom, and his mom was paying attention to the nurse. He looked back down at the blemish and willed some of his magic to cover the spot, watching it fade into his normal skin color.

He cleared his throat softly and when Veronica looked toward him, asking if he was okay, he nodded and smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, Ronnie, just tired, is all. Like I said, I feel like I haven’t slept in three days.”

The next thing he knew, he was left alone and able to worry at the dot on his hand some more in his own time.

He brought his hand up to his face to better examine the pale dot. It looked like a freckle. Or a mole. More of a freckle, actually. But, like, inverted. He wondered why it looked like a freckle but the complete opposite of what a freckle was supposed to look like.

He frowned and covered it up again before laying back and staring at his ceiling. Before he knew it, he was passed out.

 

 

 


	7. Suspicion

By the time Krolia had returned, Shiro and Keith were just finishing up a simple lesson. Shiro, who hadn’t even broke a sweat, handed a towel to Keith, who was covered in dirt and sweat.

“Did you really have to throw me around like that?” Keith complained, wiping his face with the towel.

“Do you really think that attackers will go easy on you?” Shiro snorted, rolling his eyes.

Krolia took one look at Keith and rolled her eyes. “Please, Keith, you’re a prince. You can’t go around looking like all you do is work around the yard. What would the Altean Family think?”

“I… don’t know. What would they think?”

Krolia scoffed and muttered something about being too tired for one of Keith’s mind games.

They got back into the car and drove back. Keith inquired about the Prince of Altea’s safety, asking if Krolia had learned of anything.

“Not much other than the fact that he was returned and that he was sleeping.”

Keith blinked. “Returned? Surely you meant he was rescued?”

“No. He was returned. Odd, I know. Everyone is curious as to why. And the prince knows nothing as well.”

Keith frowned and looked down, studying his hands. He didn’t understand why the prince had been returned. What kind of captors steal a prince and don’t demand any type of compensation for his safe return? Unless…

“Mother, you don’t think that…”

“Haggar?”

Keith nodded skeptically.

“I suspected. But there’s no proof to suggest it was her. I suppose we’ll just have to wait for further investigations, if there are to be any.”

Keith and his mother rode in silence the rest of the way. Keith couldn’t stop thinking about the witch and how she had escaped prison and has been under the radar the entire time. Could it be possible she was in Altea now? Could it be possible that she had stolen the prince? If that was true, then she must’ve done something. But what?

 

 

 


	8. Freckles

Lance stared at his reflection and the reflection stared back. He frowned, and the reflection frowned back. He watched as the freckled reflection copied all of his expressions and followed wherever he looked.

The freckles have since spread in the last two years.

The scan showed up nothing wrong with him so the nurses declared him fit to return to his room and discharged him.

Since then, the freckles have seemed to multiply day by day. First it was just the one on his hand. Then one on his neck the next morning. Then one above his left eyebrow the next. Then one on his collarbone the next. One on his elbow. One his shoulder. His nose. His chest.

Two years later, he had pale freckles all over his arms, chest, legs, hands, face… He covered them up any time he would go out. Any time he would be informed that he would need to go out or have a meet and greet with ambassadors, he would always be sure to cover his freckles with his magic.

This went on for two years before he started feeling sluggish. He wouldn’t want to get out of bed. He started ignoring most of his duties and stayed locked in his room.

One day when he ventured out to perform one of the duties he had planned for him, he felt so nauseous for no apparent reason. He felt all the strength leave him when he entered the throne room, his legs buckling. He fell to his knees and passed out before he hit the floor.

 

 

 


	9. INTERMISSION

After the nurses finished hooking Lance up to the machines to monitor his vitals, they stood to the side while the doctors looked over him. 

“We need to run a few scans, will you please call in the druids?” The doctor took note of Lance’s vitals and took his temperature while he waited.

His mother and father stood in the hallway, his mother gasped when the druids walked by and entered the room.

“Druids? What’s wrong with our boy, Alfor?”

“I’m not sure, but the doctors must have a good explanation for calling them in, Melenor.”

The druids circled around Lance’s bed and one reached out with a hand, producing a purple mist that sparkled as it engulfed the boy. An eerie sense of dread filled the room as the druid performing the spell remained quiet and still, the only thing moving was the mist.

The mist began retreating back to the druid’s hand and he lowered it. He walked over to the doctor to whisper in his ear.

“The boy has a strong magic in his system that cannot be removed without magical interference. You were right to call us in. If you can please remove yourself and your nurses from the room, we will go ahead with the extraction,” he explained in a raspy whisper. He seemed to pause and turn before turning back to the doctor. “I would much prefer to do this now. His entire system could be in danger.”

With that, the doctor sprung into action and gathered his nurses to vacate the room. They waited outside with Lance’s mother and father and explained what was going on. They were visibly upset, his mother crying into his father’s shoulder.

“Coran!” Alfor called out.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” Coran stepped forward from the end of the hallway and bowed.

“I need you to clear any of the Prince’s work for the rest of the day. He is to recover before the festival. I do not want him to do anything strenuous beforehand. Also cancel my plans for picking out a wife for him. I don’t want to bother him with something so significant when he’s recovering from this… illness.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, right away.”

Back in the room, the Druids had positioned themselves in a circle around Lance’s bed, three sitting on the floor while two stood at the head of the bed and the foot.

There was a heavy silence before the room seemed to swirl with energy as the druids began to hum. They started up a low, thrumming chant as they raised their arms.

The lead druid held up his hand again and produced the same purple mist to encompass around Lance’s body. The three other druids followed suit with a golden, thin mist that pierced the veil of the purple. This second mist continued it’s piercing journey until it reached Lance’s skin where the skin seemed to absorb it.

Lance’s body seized and arched as the gold mist seemed to tear itself away from Lance’s being, encompassing a greenish-silver liquid.

The entire process of extracting the poison seemed to take hours, each time the gold mist would draw out another small portion of the poison, Lance’s body would seize and he’d arch up off the bed.

The last time his back hit the mattress, his head lolled to the side and the machines hooked to his vitals rang out in a long, high pitched  _ beeeeeeep _ .

The main druid shouted something to his right and another druid stood, reaching out his arms, hands spread open as wide as he could before shouting. He curled his fingers downward like claws as a burst of electricity spiked out from each fingertip, shooting down in a jagged path toward Lance’s body.

Lance seized, back lifting off the mattress. The druid paused and released the spell, watching Lance fall back to the mattress. The steady beeping continued back up from the monitor and the druid continued to stand, ready if it were to happen again, and lowered his arms.

The remaining poison seemed to extract itself from Lance’s body less and less with each pull of the gold mist. One last pull had Lance gasping in his induced state, body flopping back against the mattress for the final time.

The druids manipulating the golden mist waited for their orders as the head druid quietly continued to keep the purple mist manifested. He seemed to stare down at the boy on the bed for a long time before allowing the purple mist to dissipate.

The other druids stood slowly and continued to swirl the liquid between the golden mist as the head druid pulled out a vial and uncorked it. He held it up as the gold mist slowly pushed the green metallic poison into the glass. As soon as it was contained, the druid corked the bottle and held it up to look at it.

He was the first one out of the door, the others following suit and continuing on their way to the laboratory as the head druid stopped by the doctor.

He leaned in and whispered into the doctor’s ear. “The prince no longer has any poison in his system. We have extracted everything. Please allow us to take this to our laboratory and see exactly the purpose of this poison.”

The doctor nodded and the druid bowed to the king and queen as he stood to his full height and followed the rest of the druids, bottle in hand.

Once inside the laboratory, the druids emptied the liquid into a container hovering over a bunsen burner. They sealed the container and lit the burner, watching the liquid condense into a gas. The gas was then sucked out of the container and into a small chamber.

The gas itself was a greenish tint and almost seemed to sparkle ominously. One druid sealed the chamber and put it aside as another druid picked up the remaining chemicals and conjured a dark purple mist around them.

“Sir,” the druid manipulating the chemicals spoke. “You won’t believe this. There are multiple trace elements.”

“Examine further. We need to know what these elements are and their effects.”

The head druid walked over to the table and picked up the chamber. He examined and turned over the container in his hand. He held it still and bowed his head, concentrating as a purple mist enveloped the container and shimmered.

A few minutes later, the mist dissipated as the druid hummed and set down the container. “Magic. Sarin. Mercury.” He listed off as a nearby druid wrote his words down onto a clipboard. “Anything on the elements?”

“Sir. They seem to be heavily coated in magic, but there are four mixed elements: tetrodotoxin, cyanide, anthrax, and hemlock.”

The lead druid reached under his long pointed mask to rub his chin. “All are powerful, fast-working toxins.”

“The prince should have been dead a few days, no…  _ hours _ at the most after his return.” A third druid chipped in.

“Which means, the magic coating must have somehow been delaying the effects.”

A grim silence fell over the druids as they all collectively take in the information.

“The white marks on his body… Do you think the toxins were attacking and killing his immune system?”

“Without a doubt. I am uncertain as to how long this could have continued before the prince…” He let the sentence drop, the eerie meaning clear in everyone’s mind.

“Report to the doctor our findings. You are to tell the king and queen the the poison has been extracted. If they want to know what the poison was, tell them it was… dark magic.” He examined the shimmering chamber containing the gas again. “We may know who the cause of this was.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here i'll explain the effects of each toxin used in this chapter:
> 
> Sarin - loss of consciousness + convulsions + paralysis + respiratory failure + eventual death  
> Mercury - memory problems + physical tremors + muscle weakness + metallic taste + nausea + numbness + difficulty breathing/walking/standing straight  
> Tetrodotocin - paralysis + eventual death  
> Cyanide - seizures + cardiac arrest + eventual death  
> Anthrax - flu like symptoms + respiratory failure  
> Hemlock - muscular paralysis
> 
> so you see, lance was in some big fuckin trouble...  
> i will not explain in the comments how he was poisoned, and what the outcome was because it gets explained later so any comments asking how it works will be ignored until it's explained later on :)


	10. Small Victories

Keith had finally bested Shiro in one of his practices. He finally pinned the older down, hand behind his back. It only took him two years, but he did it. Finally. 

Keith yielded when Shiro slapped the ground frantically in surrender. He leapt up and thrust his arms into the air with a victorious laugh.

“Ha! Finally! Yes!”

Shiro sighed, sitting up and smiling at the nineteen-year-old.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t let it go to your head,” Shiro smirked, turning on his upper body to swing his legs out from under him, sweeping one leg into Keith’s ankles. He watched with a smug look on his face as Keith’s went from celebratory to confusion to realization in slow motion. His ass hit the ground and he let out a startled ‘oof!’

Keith stared straight ahead, eyes wide, before he pouted and side-eyed Shiro from where he sat.

“That was bullshit.”

“Keith! Language… If your mother heard that…”

Keith rolled his eyes. He sat up straight suddenly, putting a hand on his chest and the other on his hip. “ _ Not befitting of a young prince _ ,” he mocked his mother’s voice, a bit higher pitched as his voice cracked.

Shiro’s face contorted as he tried not to laugh through the mockery, but failed when Keith’s voice cracked on ‘young prince.’ He leaned over where he sat, arms wrapped around his midsection as he doubled over and let loose a huge bellowing laugh. Keith leaned back where he sat, arms holding himself up as he chuckled at Shiro’s reaction.

“I hope I’m not interrupting something important,” Krolia cleared her throat. She was dressed ready to go out, intimidating pantsuit pressed and cleaned. Complete with the necklace that his father had given her on their  courting night . 

Keith’s eyes drop to the necklace, gleaming bright purple and bringing out the blue flecks in her eyes. He refocused back on his mother’s face. 

Shiro coughed and cleared his throat, standing up in a hurry and brushing himself off to bow before the Queen. “No, ma’am.”

Keith stood up slower and brushed off his backside, also bowing.

“Good. Keith, it’s time for the monthly meeting.”

“What’s so different about this one?” He inquired. Usually his mother doesn’t mention the meetings to him like this, only in passing when she was getting ready to leave. At that point, she stood before him informing him of a meeting he wasn’t allowed to attend.

“You’ll be accompanying me to Altea."

Keith studied her before shooting a glance to Shiro and back to his mother. “As in, actually being in the meeting too?”

“No, good gracious. You’re nowhere near ready for that sort of responsibility,” Krolia curled her lip slightly before returning to a neutral expression. “The Alteans are holding their annual festival, and it seems that this year the meeting falls on such a day.”

Keith looked down at the ground, having been hung up on the fact that his mother doesn’t think himself ready for any sort of serious commitment. He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll go get ready.”

“Be sure you’re ready to go in half an hour. And dress nicely. Pack a back for overnight as well, since the King and Queen of Altea will most likely want us to stay for the festival. It apparently lasts all week,” she said with a bit of a sour undertone in her voice.

Keith bowed and straightened. “Anything else, Queen Krolia?”

Krolia studied her son and smiled a bit. “Do get a shower as well.” She stepped in and tried to fix Keith’s hair that has gotten out of place in his practice session with Shiro. Keith stepped back and nodded, bowing curtly.

“Yes, ma’am. If that’s all, I’ll take my leave to get ready.” He stood, averting his eyes and headed into the castle, straight to his room.

He took a shower, had his things packed, and adorned his favorite black and red tux; his black hair pushed back on one side, the deep violet of his hair in the back combed and tamed into laying nicely against his neck. He found anything fancy to do with his hair an absolute pain to manage throughout the day, so he normally wore it down. Knowing his mother, she would try to fuss over it.

He waited by the car with his small suitcase by his feet. He adjusted his tie while the castle doors opened to reveal his mother and Shiro close behind.

“Oh good, you clean up really well. Keep this up and you’ll earn your marks in no time, Keith.”

Keith bowed as she passed and entered the car, Keith sliding in beside her. Shiro grabbed Keith’s bag and put them in the trunk with Krolia’s luggage. He slid into the front next to the driver.

Fuss over his hair she did. She reached over to Keith and brushed some violet hairs off of Keith’s shoulder and Keith leaned away. He cleared his throat and smoothed a hand over his pants, pretending to look busy so he didn’t see Krolia’s expression as she lowered her hand.

He stared out the window the entire way to Altea.

 

 

 


	11. Weak

Lance had woken up in the medical room, large scan behind him as he sat up a little. His heart began to pick up speed, alerting the nurse he was awake. “No, no, Your Royal Highness. You must lay back down. We’ve just finished extracting the poison -”

“Poison? What poison? When was I poisoned?”

The nurse looked nervous and called in the doctor. Lance’s heart rate was growing faster as he waited for the doctor to arrive.

The doctor arrived not too long after, Lance only freaking out a little.

He explained as best as he could that he had been carrying around a poison in his system that was slowly killing him for the past two year. Lance just stared blankly at the doctor, eyes widening a little. He continued to explain that the poison was no longer in his system and then proceeded to apologize.

“Wh… what for?” Lance whispered, eyes trained ahead.

“We were unable to remove or reverse any of the damage to your… erm… appearance.”

Lance jumped a little and whipped his hands out in front of him to stare at his arms and hands, turning them over shakily. He felt tears well up in his eyes and he forced them to remain at bay. “Thank you, doctor, you may go,” he rushed out in a whisper, covering his face with a hand.

The doctor paused just long enough for Lance to snap at him to leave. Lance heard the door click before he slouched over, balling his shaking fists at his eyes and sobbing. He let out everything he’d been holding in the past year and a half.

When he finally calmed down, he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, vowing to never venture out of the castle. Vowing to never again trust anyone so willingly. Vowing to never go into something without thinking it over. He was so stupid to venture out that night in the gardens. He did this to himself. He let himself be caught and poisoned. He was weak.

Weak.

He probably should have died; the castle and the royal family would be much better off without him being such a weakling. The only prince in the family… and he was weak.

He frowned, hiding his freckles with his magic again.

Never again will he be weak.

A few hours later, the doctor returned to check on him and Lance apologized for his outburst.

“It’s alright, Your Royal Highness. I suggest taking it easy and take these,” he hands Lance a bottle of small blue pills, “once a day for two weeks. Can be before bed or in the morning, you decide. They will help with recovery.” He pauses. “I recommend not doing anything strenuous… before getting back to your royal duties.”

Lance nodded and asked if that would be all.

“I was told to let you have another hour to, erm… compose yourself? Ah… an hour to relax, is a better phrase. You have the festival to get ready for.”

Lance sat up a little straighter, eyebrows raised. He’d forgotten this week happened to fall on both the monthly meeting with the Galra and also the festival. “Thank you.”

The doctor left and Lance sat there, trying to form a plan. With the festival coming up, he would be expected to dance and mingle with nobles and entertain guests. He had no intentions of schmoozing with any of them.

But, as prince, he was expected. He couldn’t let his mother and father down and leave all the work to his older sister, Allura. Even though she will be talk of the festival, her being old enough to seek out a suitor.

Lance eventually got released from the medical wing and was escorted back to his room. He got changed into his white and blue tux, glittering blue cape flowing behind him as he walked down the hallway to meet with his family.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

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